Anderson Kristin N, Jeon Andrew B, Blenner Jordan A, Wiener Richard L, Hope Debra A
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2015 Mar;85(2):131-8. doi: 10.1037/ort0000046.
Despite the availability of effective interventions, most individuals with social anxiety disorder do not seek treatment. Given their fear of negative evaluation, socially anxious individuals might be especially susceptible to stigma concerns, a recognized barrier for mental health treatment. However, very little is known about the stigma specific to social anxiety disorder. In a design similar to Feldman and Crandall (2007), university undergraduate students read vignettes about target individuals with a generic mental illness label, major depressive disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Subjects rated each of 3 people in the vignettes on social distance and 17 dimensions including dangerousness, heritability and prevalence of the disorder, and gender ratio. Results indicated that being male and not having experience with mental health treatment was associated with somewhat greater preferred social distance. Multiple regression analyses revealed that being embarrassed by the disorder and dangerousness predicted social distance across all 3 vignettes. The vignette for social anxiety disorder had the most complex model and included work impairment, more common among women, and more avoidable. These results have implications for understanding the specific aspects of the stigma associated with social anxiety disorder. Public service messages to reduce stigma should focus on more accurate information about dangerousness and mental illness, given this is an established aspect of mental illness stigma. More nuanced messages about social anxiety might be best incorporated into the treatment referral process and as part of treatment.
尽管有有效的干预措施，但大多数社交焦虑障碍患者并未寻求治疗。鉴于社交焦虑个体对负面评价的恐惧，他们可能特别容易受到污名化问题的影响，而污名化是心理健康治疗中一个公认的障碍。然而，对于社交焦虑障碍特有的污名化，人们知之甚少。在一项与费尔德曼和克兰德尔（2007年）类似的设计中，大学本科生阅读了关于患有一般性精神疾病标签、重度抑郁症和社交焦虑障碍的目标个体的短文。受试者对短文中的三个人在社交距离以及包括疾病的危险性、遗传性、患病率和性别比例等17个维度上进行了评分。结果表明，男性以及没有心理健康治疗经历与稍大的偏好社交距离相关。多元回归分析显示，因疾病感到尴尬和危险性可预测所有三篇短文中的社交距离。社交焦虑障碍的短文模型最为复杂，包括工作障碍，这在女性中更为常见且更易避免。这些结果对于理解与社交焦虑障碍相关的污名化的具体方面具有启示意义。鉴于危险性和精神疾病是精神疾病污名化的一个既定方面，减少污名化的公益信息应侧重于提供关于危险性和精神疾病的更准确信息。关于社交焦虑的更细致入微的信息可能最好纳入治疗转诊过程并作为治疗的一部分。
